The Wright Brothers, Soho

The first time I went to The Wright Brothers on Kingly Street was shortly after it had opened at the end of last year. The food arrived and I took my camera out of it’s case to capture the delights in front of me but was mortified to find that the lens had miraculously broken.

A few months later and I’m back. I have scraped my shoe, moved on and purchase a new lens. I’m not bitter at all.

I went this week for an early dinner with my dad who works in London a couple of days a week. I love meeting him for dinner and it’s always a comfort having a member of your family to be able to do this with in a city away from home.

The plan was to meet for Oysters, which is why I suggested The Wright Brothers. Their sister restaurant, Oyster & Porterhouse in Borough market has long been suggested as one of the best spots for Oysters in London and the same can be said of their newest venture. We were lucky that it had been a beautiful day so the evening was warm. We snagged a seat in Kingly Court and realised that outside seating areas in Central London are rare.

We ordered 9 of the Spéciale de claire, which slid down the throat a real treat. For main I ordered the roast Hake with chick peas and my dad the seafood linguine. I ordered a side of seasonal vegetables, which happened to be green beans. My favourite. They were perfect – slightly crunchy and deliciously buttery.

I was happy to see that the Hake fillet was large when it arrived. I was slightly worried that I wouldn’t leave full, having not ordered a side of potatoes, but it turned out that I didn’t need them. It was slightly over seasoned and the skin wasn’t quite as crispy as I would have hoped but it was crispy enough to demolish, which of course I did. The texture of the chick peas was a welcome addition and added a punch of extra flavour.

The seafood linguine was exquisite. Al dente linguine with a rich lobser bisque and a perfect amount of seafood. I recently had this dish at another London restaurant and was disappointed with it – the sauce was far too rich and there was hardy any seafood present. The Wright Brothers definitely got the ratios right.

The only niggle of the evening was when a lone diner asked to sit next to us. That was fine but then she asked if she could smoke. I panicked and said yes. After all, she was allowed and there was no where else for her to sit. All of the memories of disgusting cigarette smoke blowing into your mouth when chewing flew back to me. Luckily I didn’t even notice when she lit up.

We chose not to have a dessert, partly as I had the chocolate and hazelnut pot last time I went and wasn’t overly impressed but also because we wanted to head to Bar Italia for a coffee.

With three floors inside, a bustling open kitchen, cosy candlelit indoor eating for those chilly evenings and outdoor table seating for glorious mild summer nights, The Wright Brothers Soho is a restaurant for all seasons. The food is simple and it’s cooked so well that is leaves you wanting to go back for more.

The menu is small but I’m not complaining as it means that all of the fish is fresh daily. And it’s sustainable too – most of it sourced from small Cornish day boats. I like knowing that next time I go back, there will be something different on the menu.

The bill came to £61.80 (including service) for a bread basket, 2 starters, 2 mains and 2 glasses of wine.

1 Comment

I actually think it’s incredibly rude for someone to ask if she can smoke if people are eating next to her – politeness dictates that the neighbours say yes, so in my view it’s as bad as lighting up without asking. Ugh.